More by Donna and Chad

I grew up in a pretty small town. We had streetlights and all, but it wasn’t uncommon to see people riding horses in the street. I remember as a teenager we would cruise the Promenades all night long on Friday and Saturday night. The town would shut down by 9 p.m. and we would grab a bite to eat at a great 24-hour diner.

I never needed a menu. I ordered the same thing every time; sweet tea and a slice of their homemade peanut butter pie. It was the best.

Years later I still think of that diner whenever peanut butter pies come to mind. It brings back fantastic memories of that time in my live. I love that pie and wanted to create a spectacular peanut butter pie in honor of my unforgettable childhood in that amazing town.

(Chad A Elick)

With one of my favorite candies calling to me from the pantry, I knew this was going to be an epic pie that could only be rivaled by the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Brownie. It all starts with a cookie and peanut butter cup pie crust; yes, peanut butter cups are right inside the pie crust. The peanut butter filling is sweet, light and fluffy with bits of peanuts throughout, topped with homemade whipped cream and a generous amount of peanut butter cups, peanuts and chocolate. Truly the BEST.PIE.EVER.

(Chad A Elick)

It’s absolutely a dessert fit for a special occasion. You made it through Monday? That IS a special occasion. Break out the peanut butter cups. This no-bake pie goes from prep to plate in 30 minutes; this is one for the permanent recipe file! We will be serving this No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Cream Pie for Thanksgiving this year. It’s so good I am sure there will be an encore at Christmas too.

Directions

In a tall bowl whip heavy cream with an electric mixer until you can start to see a defined trail through the cream. Add vanilla and slowly add ¾ cup powdered sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form. (In other words when you turn off the blender and lift the beaters out of the cream, the cream stand up on the end of the beater). Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

In a food processor combine cookies and 20 peanut butter cups. Pulse until your mixture is crumbs. Slowly pour butter in through the feed tube. Pulse until combined and crumbs are moistened.

Pour crumbs into a 9” pie plate and press mixture on the bottom and around the sides to form pie crust. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

To prepare the filling: Combine cream cheese and 1 cup powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add peanut butter. Beat until well combined. Fold in ½ of the whipped cream until it is completely incorporated. Pour into chilled pie crust. Smooth with a spatula. Pour remaining whipped cream over top. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare toppings.

Place the milk chocolate in a microwave safe mixing bowl. Heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until chocolate is melted. Set aside.

Quarter the remaining 20 mini peanut butter cups.

Sprinkle peanut butter cups over pie. Sprinkle chopped peanuts over pie. Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over pie (or transfer chocolate to a plastic sandwich bag and cut a very small hole in the corner, then drizzle over pie).